Meet Our Instructors: Celina Stodder

Celina Stodder

Majors: Writing Seminars & Psychology

Year: Class of 2028

Teaching at: Furman Templeton

What inspired you to work with WBS?

Teaching has always been an integral aspect of my life. My mom used to be a pre-school teacher and instilled a deep love to learn in me from an early age. This love grew into a love of teaching. Combined with the fact that above all else, I am a storyteller at heart, WBS became the perfect crossroads to explore my passion for creative writing and my love of teaching. Working with kids to develop their own relationships to writing inspires me to be a better writer, learner, and teacher every single day!

What is your favorite lesson you’ve taught? Why?

One of my favorite moments from teaching came from a conversation I was having with my students reflecting on everyone’s individual growth as a writer, and what they might want to do with writing in the future. We talked a lot about how people’s relationships to writing evolve, particularly as they edit and re-edit content. Through this conversation, I learned about several different ways students can think about creating. However, amongst all of them was an incredible passion to share their personal stories through the power of words.

What are some things you love?

I love being able to explore what’s real in what’s written, especially through acting. Performances bring our writing to life and allow us to understand more about ourselves and how we portray these parts through fiction.

What is something you love doing even though you’re not very good at it?

I am slowly teaching myself how to sing! I’m far from the best, but I absolutely adore doing it. From practice rooms to my shower, singing helps me express my frustrations to the world through stylistic language.